Sound Art: NYC’s High Line or the subtle way of Sound Branding

Ryan Francis, a Juilliard School of Music graduate, has composed an ode to the city’s elevated train track, the High Line, which opened to great acclaim last year. The High Line, his winning composition in a prize sponsored by LVMH and the American Composer’s Orchestra to create a Greener New York City-inspired sonic branding for the park.

How did Francis create the aural experience and evoke the audio essence of the High Line experience? According to the brandchannel Ryan Francis comments about his composition: “I did …away with literal comparisons and came to really think about representing an environment. It’s a very quiet, private space. Even when it’s crowded, there’s a quiet about it. That sense of intimacy next to grandeur of the city was the overarching aesthetic influence.”

One response to “Sound Art: NYC’s High Line or the subtle way of Sound Branding”

a great example of the power of music and sound to capture the atmosphere and the experience of a site. It is interesting, that Francis decided not to “quote” the sound of the High Line itself, but trusted on the associations and emotions evoked by the music alone.

Another project might be worth mentioning here, that pointed into the same direction. The composer Samir Odeh-Tamimi turned the city atmosphere of Istanbul into a symphony using classical orchestra as well as local instruments (http://corporatesound.twoday.net/stories/11444918/).